A group of scientists at the University of Copenhagen and Uppsala University have analyzed journal reports of drugs in development that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). They looked specifically at drugs being tested or in clinical trials in order to map the kinds of GPCR-targeting drugs we might expect to see in the future.
According to the predictions published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, drugs that target GPCRs will likely be more precise, become more complex and have fewer side effects. This is based on the fact that researchers have learned more about how these receptors are built and their function, allowing drugs to be more specific. These advances are largely due to advances in analyzing 3D structure.
The team also noted that the shift from small chemical drugs to more complex biological protein drugs seems to be continuing with further fine tuning of these types of drugs in the works.
Analyzing the types of diseases new drugs will likely be targeting revealed a number of clinical trials for Alzheimer’s and obesity drugs. Asthma, diabetes and cancer also appeared to be prevalent in the literature, with central nervous disorders highly represented as well. Furthermore, the authors note that there is great untapped potential for future GPCR-targeting drugs as over half of the human GPCRs don’t have drugs that target them currently.